The final debate of the day brought the stress-relieving camaraderie into high relief, as Carencro Republican Julie Emerson urged passage of her bill to deregulate hair braiding.

“Right now, in order to braid in the state of Louisiana, you have to have 500 hours in a class and be licensed,” she explained. “There’s actually no ability to get the license anymore. There’s no school that offers the 500 hours at this point.”

“I’m concerned,” said the 78-year-old from Beauregard Parish, “Because if we deregulate this, you know, this is eliminating all the sanitation, and being clean. And I’m very much on that. I was a home economics teacher and you learned to wash your hands before you ever touched anything.”

Hammond Republican Chris Broadwater tried to help Hill understand the lack of danger in passing this measure.

“Are there any reports of anyone dying from having their hair braided? Any reports of someone being maimed or injured because someone was braiding their hair?” Broadwater asked rhetorically from the lectern.

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“We’re struggling to find ways to pay for health care and balance it against the other needs of the state. The fiscal note says this could generate as much as 100-million in a given year.”

Ascension Parish Representative Tony Bacala said, as he presented his bill requiring the Louisiana Department of Health to move to managed care programs for those with long-term health needs on Wednesday.

We’re halfway through the legislative session now, and the House Ways and Means committee finally began moving some tax reform bills Monday. As anticipated, the preferred plan is a package of bills authored by Representative Barry Ivey (R-Baton Rouge).